Finally, a Tactile Keyboard for the Apple iPhone

One of the major reasons why someone may not be willing to convert from the land of the BlackBerry into the realm of the iPhone is that the latter lacks a hardware keyboard. To help bridge this gap, the iPhone is finally getting a real tactile keyboard, making it so much easier to enter text and type email messages.

The transitional product isn’t coming out of Steve Jobs and the team in Cupertino, however. Instead, we turn our attention over to Mobile Mechatronics (what a name!) to find the iTwinge keyboard. In effect, your iPhone gets a keyboard just like what you’d find on a Treo, BlackJack, or Nokia E-Series.

The iTwinge keyboard, which lists at $30, serves almost like a protective half-case or sleeve for the iPhone. Part of it slides over the bottom half of the iPhone’s capacitive touchscreen, getting the iTwinge hardware keys to line up with the virtual keyboard on the iPhone. That way, you can type to your heart’s delight… so long as the virtual keyboard is there.

When you’re done firing out that text message, you can slip off the iTwinge and put it away. Otherwise, you’ll always have half of the iPhone’s screen obscured by a keyboard that won’t do anything else.

Look for the iTwinge keyboard for iPhone to launch this November at the aforementioned $30 price points. Mobile Megatronics is taking pre-orders now if you feel so inclined.

9 comments

I like the iphone, except for the lack of tactile keyboard. It's the only thing stopping me from buying the iphone. Probably will buy a droid next february when my blackberry contract is up. too bad for apple, I'm sure there's lots of people out there like me. Why can't they offer an iphone with or without the tactile keyboard???

Wow its great. I think many old people and business people did not like iphone or touch screen phones because some times its hard to use speacially for people who wear glasses now i think its going to be easy for many people. Apple is a great product and i think their new apple tablet is going to be a great hit as well . Check this out ( hhtp://www.domesticutilities.com/apple.htm )

Why should the iPhone have to compromise? If a blackberry user has to have a tactile keyboard let them remain blackberry users. I think it is a shame that Apple has stooped over this far, a tactile keyboard? All great things in history have been great because they were different and willing to break the mold as well as a few rules along the way! I love the iPhone as is. You just need to get used to it is all, try it I think you’ll love it as is.

This is stupid! You have to constantly put on/off the sleeve (physical keyboard) when starting/ending your text input. This sleeve will be annoying specially whn trying to input something while surfing the web.